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It wasn’t until I moved to Bali Indonesia a few years back that I ran into one of the most powerful herbs on the market for anxiety and depression. The people in Bali used this herb exclusively for free radical damage caused by stress, and they mentioned how it also prevented premature aging as well as chronic illness (which explains why many of the 90 year olds still look around 60 there). So I had to give it a shot even though I had tried everything out there already. To my surprise I realized quickly that this herb was simply MADE for people dealing with anxiety and depression.

Why Ashwagandha Is The Best Herb On The Market For Anxiety And Depression

Now before I go on and tell you the benefits, my own personal story with this herb let me explain something that is really important here for you. You’re reading this post because you either want to learn how to deal with stress better in your daily life, you have an anxiety disorder and are searching for a natural solution after trying pretty much everything already, or you’re in need of some motivation in the form of a success story from someone who’s been in your anxious shoes, and has come out the other side. For you I say this:

Herbs Should Be Viewed And Taken As A Sidekick And Not A Potential Cure For Your Anxiety

Believe in your trusty sidekick… Ashwagandha!

Hope I didn’t step on any toes there, but it’s the cold hard truth. My personal natural recovery from an anxiety disorder didn’t begin until I reached a point in my life where I believed no external help in the form of herbs or pills, was going to make me all better. So with this new found approach to ending your anxiety disorder natural let’s get to my favourite anxiety herb on the market today.

Whether it’s to improve your ability to think in a more straight forward manner, decrease pain and swelling caused by inflammation or for treating wounds Ashwagandhais a multi purpose plant. The power of this herb combined with a CBT approach to ending the cycle of fear and anxiety, along with a specific diet can do absolutely wonders for you as it has done for many people around the world.

In Many Studies Taken Place Recently Ashwagandha Has Been Shown To Be As Effective As Many Anti Anxiety Medications and Antidepressants

But back to my own experience with this herb for a second. After orally taking Ashwagandha for 7 days straight I began to feel similar anxiety relieving feelings as taking Ativan (Lorazepam, a very popular anti anxiety prescription medication that doctors are famous for pushing down our throats). In a seperate study when Ashwagandha was given to some chronically stressed out animals the number of degenerating brain cells was reduced by 80%,

I mean I know they’re animals but that’s still awesome!

Nope, no worries here.

We all know the effects that chronic stress has on our minds as well as our bodies, and it’s our job to push back against anxiety, degenerative disease and premature aging. What we don’t need is to be taking something orally for the benefits it might have for our mental health, and at the same time worry about what the side effects are to taking what we’re taking!

This is where an amazing anxiety herb such as Ashwagandha can be helpful. No side effects which equals no worries. This indian herb has demonstrated excellent results in my own personal past life with anxiety and depression, and it may do the same for you. So what do you really have to lose, except maybe a few notches on that high stress and anxiety scale you’re currently dealing with…

Have you tried Ashwagandha or another type of herb that has worked well for you? Join the conversation and share your experiences in the comment section below.

Can eating the right foods give you relief from stress and anxiety?

I believe it can make a big difference definitely, especially if you add these 7 foods to your daily intake.

Avocados

Did you know that avocados are actually a fruit? It’s true! An amazing source of B6 and folic acid that both help with proper nervous system functioning.

Berries

Blueberries especially are superfoods that are packed with a variety of antioxidants, these antioxidants are known to be extremely beneficial against stress and anxiety.

Oranges

In your new anti-anxiety diet oranges can not be ignored. Research has shown that by simply peeling and sniffing an orange your blood pressure drops by a few points. Imagine what it can do for you if you eat it!

Oysters

Zinc defiency can cause depression, and with these shellfish containing 7 times the serving of zinc over any other food, you may just put the nasty smell of it behind you.

Walnuts

Did you know that just one ounce of walnuts can replace your stress depleted B vitamins? With those kinds of stats this nut can’t be ignored.

Dark Chocolate

Want to reduce cortisol levels? Grab a piece (I said a piece!) of dark chocolate without the added sugars or milks. The compounds in dark chocolate helps to lift your mood, so you can stop the guilt of eating dark chocolate now.

Chamomile Tea

My personal favourite tea to drink, especially just before bed. Did you know that some compounds in chamomile actually act the same way as valium for your brain receptors? If you don’tlike the tea form, you can always use the supplement form to help with stress and anxiety in your life.

Bottom line is food makes a difference, a big difference when it comes to lowering your stress and anxiety levels. I go much deeper into a set anti-anxiety diet plan in my nutrition plan to combat stress and anxiety ebook, but It simply can’t be ignored. So begin to consciouly pick out what you put in your body and use this list to help you out.

Is there certain foods that have helped or hurt your progress over relieving stress and anxiety from your life? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

Are you confused about the relationship between your mental health, and nutrition? Is gaining and losing weight affecting your anxiety levels daily? Do you know what you need to eat, and what not to eat but just can’t seem to stay on a healthy eating schedule? I want to clear up all your confusion when it comes to nutrition and your mental and physical health, and tell you the truth about those fad diets and the ‘Vultures’ in this world who continue to feed you false information, just to make a buck. The Complete Nutrition Plan for Stress and Anxiety will guide you step by step so that you can begin to feel optimal health not some day, but immediately. In 2 weeks time this powerful eBook will be coming out and I want you to be the first to get your eyes on it. ‘Like’ The Anxious Athlete page on Facebook for updates on the release of A Nutrition Plan To Combat Stress And Anxiety, and I can’t wait to get to know you through my page 🙂

I truly want to get you pumped about juicing on this beautiful sunday and that’s why I want to give you 8 important reasons to begin juicing, as well as 3 excellent recipes to start your juicing journey today!

1. Drinking fresh juice is full of live enzymes, which is incredibly helpful for your body.

2. Unlike coming out from a package, the juice is fresh and not pasteurized. Pasteurization may have its conveniences but it has resulted in nutritionally dead foods. During pasteurization, high heat is used and this destroys the vital nutrients within the juice.

3. You consume more vegetables by drinking than by eating. As you probably have experienced, it’s not always possible to eat as many vegetables as you would like. Drinking fresh vegetable juice helps take care of this problem.

4. Digestion and assimilation of the vegetable nutrients is much easier. Your body is in fact, like a juicer. When you eat a celery, your body will digest the celery by extracting the juice to get the nutrition. The fiber is eliminated via the colon and bowel movements. However, if you juice, you have already extracted the juice for the body thus making it easier for your assimilation. Nevertheless, it’s still important to eat whole vegetables and fruits because you need some amount of fiber as well.

5. Fasting gives your digestive system a rest. Since fresh fruit and vegetable juices require little digestion, and are quickly assimilated into your body. Most of the 10% of bodily energy normally involved in your assimilation, digestion, and elimination is freed up. The end result? You feel a sense of renewed energy after the fast.

6. A fast helps to also break down toxic materials – fat, abnormal cells and tumors-and releases diseased tissues and their cellular products into the circulation for elimination.

7. In addition, new cell growth during fasting is stimulated and accelerated as the required proteins are re-synthesized from decomposed cells. Your serum albumin reading, that is blood-protein level, remains constant and normal throughout your fast, as your body very smartly uses protein and other stored nutrients where needed.

8. Juice fasting is a much gentler process of detoxification as compared to water fasting. For a juice fast, a broad variety of fruits and vegetables should be used in combination and that is necessary to enhance health during the fast. In this manner, the body still gets its daily calories from the easily-digested juices as compared to the more extreme water fast. Thus, the release of toxins from the fat cells in a juice fast is much more gentle and gradual.

Remember… NO EXCUSES! Yes juicing takes some preparation time, yes a juicer costs money, and yes it takes time to actually juice. But my question to you is how bad do you want reach your mental health, weight gain, physical health related goals? Remember, whether your goal is to lose weight, lessen your stress and anxiety levels, reverse disease… all of these can be handled simply by beginning to juice! The key to getting the most out of juicing is to do it yourself and not to settle for what’s sitting in a shelf somewhere that says fresh juice!

Time to get juicing!

Follow the anxious athlete blog for the very best mental and physical health related articles, as well as my own personal transformation from debilitating anxiety disorder to optimal physical and mental health!

Ok, I realize that this post has nothing do do with anxiety, panic attacks, mental health or anything related. Well in a way it does because nutrition is a vital need for good physical AND mental health. But I just can’t get myself over the question of…

What’s up with all these girls reaching puberty so fast? Is it in the meat?

It is suspected that this may be due to the steroids found in today’s meat. Unfortunately, studies done on the potentially harmful ingredients in meat have proved inconclusive and further studies are needed. One problem when conducting a study is that the animals produce some of the hormones naturally, therefore making it hard to determine how much is natural versus the pellet hormones. Also, the level of hormones produced naturally varies from animal to animal, another hurdle for researchers to overcome. The concern with nitrates, used to cure meats and give them a pink or red color, is that they can be converted into nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are believed to both cause and promote cancer. However, the FDA has no studies that decisively finds nitrates used in meats harmful, therefore they continue to allow them to be used in processed foods (not sure if I really trust the FDA though).

What should you as a consumer do?

If you are going to eat meat, one thing you can do is purchase organic meat. Organic meat comes from livestock raised without hormones or steroids. Also, the cattle are fed grains with no pesticides involved. In 2002, the United States Department of Agriculture developed a system whereas all organic foods (including meat) would be labeled as such. So when shopping, you should see a label on organic meat that signifies that it contains at least 95% organic ingredients. Some grocery stores carry organic meat, but if not, you may have to visit a butcher shop or health food store to find it. You can even buy organic meat through the Internet and have it delivered to your home. However, if you decided to purchase meat online, you may want to first order a small amount. That way, you can determine if it meets all your specifications for delivery time, freshness, etc. before buying a larger quantity.

As ranchers strive to find ways to get more cattle to slaughter faster, consumers will continue to be concerned in the methods they are using to do it. Until more research is done, the best thing you can do it try to be aware of all the dangers out there by staying up to date on the current research being done on cattle hormones and chemicals used in processing meats, and purchase organic meat for your family.

Did this post get you thinking about the effects of meat? Share your thoughts, experiences and suggestions in the comment section!